No stray dogs in Delhi? SC target challenges MCD's funds and capacity

Business Standard

4 days ago

The Supreme Court's directive to remove stray dogs from Delhi's streets, sterilise them, and relocate them permanently to shelters has triggered one of the capital's largest animal control drives in decades.
In its order on Monday, the apex court instructed the capture of 5,000 stray dogs from 'high-risk areas' within six to eight weeks. The animals are to be housed in shelters with adequate staffing, CCTV surveillance, and helplines. The court barred the re-release of sterilised dogs — a departure from the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which require returning them to their original locations.
But this leads to a question — can the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) manage this exercise within the time frame decided by the Supreme Court? And why dog sterilisation efforts in the past faced roadblocks.
How many stray dogs are there in Delhi?
While the Supreme Court pegged the initial removal target at 5,000, it did not clarify the basis for the figure.
In Delhi, the last formal dog census by the MCD was conducted in 2009, when the stray dog count was recorded at approximately 560,000. Since then, no comprehensive survey has been done.
According to a report in The Times of India, a census for stray dogs was conducted in 2016 by the then South Delhi Municipal Corporation, counting 1,89,285 strays in its four zones. Of these, only 27.87 per cent of females and 40.03 per cent of males were sterilised.
The MCD admitted in court that updated population data was necessary to assess the impact of existing ABC efforts.
Animal birth control centre in Delhi: Capacity gap looms large
Delhi currently lists 20 ABC centres in areas such as Rohini, Timarpur, Dwarka, Tughlaqabad, Usmanpur, and Bijwasan, with a combined capacity of 3,500–4,000 dogs at a time, according to MCD Standing Committee minutes from last month.
According to MCD figures cited in an October 2024 Times of India report, the civic body told the Delhi High Court that, at the time, only 11 NGOs and four veterinary doctors were working across the city's 250 municipal wards, and just 46,600 strays had been vaccinated by the end of July 2024 — far short of the coverage needed.
In the same report, the MCD stated that a sterilisation rate of 70–80 per cent was essential to control the stray population effectively.
How many dogs sterilised this year
Between January 25 and June 25, 2025, the MCD has sterilised and vaccinated 65,031 dogs. The corporation projects 97,994 surgeries between April 2024 and December 2025 — up from 79,959 in 2023–24 and 59,076 in 2022–23 — but still below the threshold for population stabilisation.
Animal welfare groups, such as Nyaya Bhoomi, have accused the MCD of underperforming and even over-reporting sterilisation numbers. In 2024, the Delhi High Court asked MCD to provide a more concrete plan to curb the stray population after finding its affidavit inadequate.
Does MCD have the capacity to house stray dogs?
Until now, sterilised dogs have been released to their original locations — a practice the Supreme Court has now barred. The MCD has proposed building 12 permanent shelters, one in each zone, but no capital expenditure has yet been approved.
How much does it cost to sterilise a stray dog?
Delhi's reimbursement rates for sterilisation and immunisation have not been updated since May 2021:
₹1,000 per dog when NGOs or private veterinary teams handle catching, surgery, and release.
₹900 per dog when the Municipal Corporation does the catching.
Last week, the Centre revised its ABC scheme, offering ₹800 per dog plus a one-time ₹2 crore grant for veterinary hospital infrastructure. This falls below both Delhi's 2021 rate and current local cost estimates in other cities.
Meanwhile, last month, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) proposed raising its sterilisation-plus-feeding payment to ₹1,650 per dog, up from ₹976, citing alignment with ABC 2023 rules.
The funding gap is stark:
For the Supreme Court's immediate 5,000-dog target, the extra cost of paying ₹1,650 instead of Delhi's ?1,000 is ₹32.5 lakh more.
For Delhi's projected 97,994 sterilisations by the end of 2025, the difference is ₹63.7 crore more than current allocations, excluding shelter construction and operating costs.
This gap shows that even with the Centre's revised funding, Delhi would still be operating far below what some cities now consider a realistic per-dog cost under the ABC 2023 framework.
Beyond numbers
A recent report by ThePrint pointed out bigger issues with Delhi's ABC programme on an operational level. Their visits to six sterilisation centres found unhygienic and unsafe conditions, failure to follow required procedures, denial of access at one site, and even abuse of animals at another.
The report argued that such neglect undermines the humane control of strays, especially as the city government pursues controversial relocation plans opposed by animal rights groups.
According to a Hindustan Times report, several animal welfare experts and activists have warned that forcibly removing community dogs could:
Violate ABC Rules, 2023, by not returning sterilised dogs to their areas.
Be impractical given the large stray population and lack of shelter space.
Cause animal suffering by breaking up established packs.
Fail to address root causes such as lack of feeding points and poor public awareness.
Trigger territorial conflicts in relocation areas.
Bottom line
With less than six weeks to comply, the MCD must not only expand shelter capacity and align funding with realistic per-dog costs, but also address long-standing structural gaps — from limited manpower and outdated data to weak oversight, poor facility conditions, and deep disagreement over whether mass removals are lawful or humane.